Three Wishes
by BriellaBleu
Summary: When Sam saves the life of a mysterious man he is granted three wishes. Anything his heart desires but there is one catch, he cannot wish to change the past. Will Sam follow the rules or will the chance to rewrite the history of his relationship with Mercedes prove to be more than he can resist?
1. Chapter 1

_"…__.how come Jesus looks just like a white guy _

_When he's from Palestine, that can't be right, no…_

_Sh-sh-sh-shakin' my head _

_Sh-sh-sh-shakin' my head…"_

Sam fought the urge to shake his head wildly as he listened to his girlfrie—ex-girlfriend's first single filter loudly through his blue Beats. They had been a going away present from Mercedes. He initially protested because he thought it was too much but she placated him by saying that she got them for selfish reasons because she wanted him to hear her music in the best possible way. How could he argue with that?

It had been almost three months since he had last seen her in person. They still talked on the phone constantly but it was usually just snatches of conversations here and there. He missed her and instead of getting easier it seemed to get harder every day.

Sam kicked a rock that was in his path as he ambled down the cracked sidewalk towards his apartment. It was nothing but an old efficency in a rough part of town but it was his and he was paying for it all by himself. At the moment he was splitting time waiting tables at Breadstix and being a barista at The Lima Bean. It's not where he expected to be after having his face plastered all over the side of a bus but it was a honest's days work and he made enough in tips to survive on. All of the money from his modeling campaign was currently tucked away in a savings account that he didn't touch. Sam really didn't know what his next big plan was but he did know that whenever he figured it out he would be financially secure enough to go after it without worrying too much about how he was going to survive.

The addictive beat of 'Shakin' My Head' faded out and Sam couldn't help but smile at Mercedes cute little giggle at the end. He realized then that he needed to hear it for real so he decided to call her and tell her about a funny thing that happened at the Lima Bean that he knew she would get a kick out of.

He tugged the Beats from his ears and pulled his iPhone from his back pocket. He stared briefly at his background photo, Mercedes bright eyes were twinkling and her mouth was opened wide as she laughed loudly. He could practically hear it from just looking at the picture. She didn't like the photo and tried to make him change it but he told her that she was never more beautiful than when she was happy and until he found a picture with her looking even happier he wasn't changing it. She rolled her eyes but she never asked him to change it again—even after they broke up.

Regretfully he slid his finger across the screen to unlock it and he tapped the phone symbol to pull up his dial pad. He was in the process of dialing Mercedes' number when his arm was roughly pushed causing him to drop his phone.

"Hey!" Sam called out to the man who had rudely bumped into him and kept on walking past him. "Hey! Can you not see, man?"

The man kept walking and Sam shook his head in disgust. He picked his phone up and groaned when he saw the crushed screen. It was useless now which meant he was out of a phone, which meant he couldn't call Mercedes. The thought of that had Sam seeing red and he took off after the man to confront him

The man moved quickly down the sidewalk and Sam had to jog to catch him. The man glanced back towards Sam but seem unconcerned that he was following him because he didn't speed up but he didn't slow down either which infuriated Sam.

"Hey man! Look at what you did to my phone!" Sam screamed as he waved his phone in the air, "Are you not even going to apologize? You don't have to be a jackass! The least you could do is say I'm sor—-HEY! WATCH OUT!"

Sam watched in disbelief as the man casually stepped off the sidewalk and onto the street right in front of a black SUV. Without thinking Sam ran forward and grabbed the man's arm and jerked him back on the sidewalk just as the SUV hurtled past them.

Sam breathed a sigh of relief as wisps of blonde hair that had been blown upwards by the force of the SUV fluttered back down on his forehead. He turned around to find the man laying on the grass on the other side of the sidewalk and watching him with a curious gleam in his eyes.

"Are you okay?" Sam asked harshly because what he really wanted to do was ask them man if he were fucking crazy.

The man smiled up at before saying in a surprisingly deep and melodic voice, "I'm quite alright, thanks to you young man."

Sam raised his eyes at the term 'young man' because the guy staring up at him didn't look as if he were much older than Sam. He had smooth brown skin and inky, straight black hair and he looked as if he was of middle eastern descent. Sam reached his hand towards the man and helped him up. Sam had a good five or six inches on the guy, in fact he wasn't much taller than Mercedes.

Sam watched warily as the man nonchalantly brushed his jeans off as he was straightening up after eating a picnic on the grass instead of just coming thisclose to be flattened by an SUV.

"Are you sure you're okay? I mean, you could've died just now."

"But I didn't. Thanks to you." The man repeated with a slight bow of his head. "I must repay you for what you did."

"Nah, man." Sam shook his head, but then he looked down at his shattered phone on the ground and he quickly changed his mind. "Well, you could get this fixed." He said as he picked up the iPhone.

The man smiled as he stared at the phone but then he shook his head slightly. "I am sorry, young man, I do not have any money with me but I can give you something far more valuable."

Sam sighed in frustration, "Honestly, man if you can't get my phone fixed there really isn't anything you can do for me."

"Are you sure about that? Is money and material things all you desire?"

"No," Sam answered in an exasperated tone as a vision of Mercedes flashed in his mind, "but the things I really want you can't give me."

"Are you sure about that?" The man asked again. "Are you really sure about that?"

Sam fought the urge to roll his eyes. This conversation was clearly going no where and he was just wasting his time talking to this man.

"Look, if you're sure you're okay then I'm going to go home, okay?"

"You cannot leave until you repay you." The man said firmly but the smile still stayed in place.

"Ugh, fine! Just whatever you want to give me will be fine."

"Thank you, young man."

Sam stared at the man impatiently as he waited for him to give him a ball of rolled up lint from his pocket or something but instead the man came forward and grabbed his hands. Sam fought the urge to jerk back because the man's hands startled him. His face and body appeared young but the man's hands felt like he remembered his 80 year-old grandfather's hands feeling. The were rough and wrinkly and so hot—almost inhumanely hot. Sam looked up in surprise at the man but the man didn't say a word in response to the silent question. He closed his eyes and muttered briefly under his breath for a second before squeezing Sam's hands tightly three times. After the third squeeze the man dropped Sam's hands abruptly and stepped back.

"There is your gift."

"You holding my hands was my gift?" Sam asked in disbelief. "The ball of lint would have been better."

"I have granted you three wishes. Anything your heart desires, anything you want at all just say, 'I wish…' and it will be yours."

"Dear Lord…" Sam started as he rolled his eyes but he was interrupted as the man continued on.

"But be careful because if you change the past it will have ramifications for your future."

"Are you serious? Oh my God, you're serious aren't you?"

"Listen to me young man, greater men than you have fallen prey to this power. Remember, with great power comes a great—"

"Responsibility? Uncle Ben is that you?" Sam laughed rudely.

"Comes a great price." The man finished calmly. "If you misuse this gift then it will come back to haunt you."

"Look, whatever man." Sam said finally, "Thanks for nothing…I mean, thank you for the three wishes, I will guard them with my life."

The man just continued to smile but nodded his head in acknowledgment.

"Thank you again young man for your kindness. May I ask, what is your name?"

"Sam. Sam Evans, what's yours?"

"Djinn."


	2. Chapter 2

"So wait, the guy granted you three wishes? Did he come out of a lamp?"

Sam smiled as he listened to Mercedes laugh uproariously on the phone. He was currently sitting on his bed with a cordless headset glued to his ear as he stared woefully at his dead iPhone. The second he got home he called Mercedes and told him about his adventure and she had been laughing ever since.

"Oh my God….oh my God…" She wheezed out breathlessly, "they may be the best thing I've ever heard in my life."

"I'll bet." Sam responded dryly as he got up from the bed and headed towards the small bookcase located in the corner. He pulled out a tiny red photo album that caught his eye and he started to flip through it as he made his way back to the bed.

"Hey Mercedes, do you still have that photo album we got after Nationals in New York?"

"Um, I think it's still at my parents house in Lima. Why?"

"No reason, I was just looking through mine."

"Do you have any pics of Santana nearly going all Lima Heights on Rachel?"

"Sadly, no," Sam chuckled, "even though sometimes I've imagined what it would've been like if I had let Santana go."

"I love Rachel, but I have too." Mercedes laughed, "that seems like forever ago."

"I know, right?" He responded absent-mindedly as his gaze fell on a picture of him and Mercedes sitting next to each other in the green room waiting to perform. He could still remember the secret looks and smiles they gave each other as their classmates surrounded them unaware of what was happening between them.

"I miss those days."

"What days?"

"When we were first together, when it was all new and fresh."

"Instead of old and stale?" Mercedes teased.

"You know what I mean, I miss when we first started. I think…I don't know, I think that if we had been more open about our relationship we wouldn't have broken up over the summer."

"Sam, we broke up because you left. Neither one of us thought you'd be back."

"Yeah, but be honest, wasn't it easier for you let go because nobody knew about us?"

"Sam, that's not fair."

"Maybe not, but is it wrong?"

"I don't know…"

"I'm just saying I think it was easy for to break up with me and move on with Shane because there was nobody around to question it."

"Sam…"

"Am I wrong? Tell me I'm wrong, and I'll drop it."

"Not entirely, but it was more than just that. You moving away was the reason we broke up. Why are you bringing this up now? That was eons ago."

Sam glanced back down at the picture and shrugged his shoulders before remembering Mercedes couldn't see him.

"I don't know," he answered glumly, "Sometimes I just wish things were different, ya know? I wish people would have known about us back then…maybe things would have turned out differently for us."

"Maybe." Mercedes replied quietly but she didn't seem convinced. "Listen Sam, I gotta go, we're almost at the hotel. I'll talk you tomorrow?"

"Yeah," Sam answered as he yawned loudly, "Man, I feel tired all of sudden."

"Get some rest then, saving genies is hard work you know."

"Ha ha." Sam laughed as he yawned again. "I'll call you tomorrow after work."

"Okay, bye Sam."

"Bye, Mercedes."

Sam tossed the cordless phone towards the foot of his bed and the small photo album followed soon after. He stared wistfully on the photo on his lap before tossing it on the nightstand next to his alarm clock. It was barely 9 at night but Sam was exhausted so he stood and tugged off his jeans and shirt before flopping back in bed with nothing but his boxer briefs on. He reached over to his nightstand and fumbled a second before finding the chain on his lamp. He gave it one sharp tug and his room was engulfed in black. Seconds later he was sleep.

_Mercedes and Sam sitting in a tree K-I-S-S-I-N-G first comes love then comes marriage then comes a little light brown baby in a baby carriage…"_

_"Really Brittany?" Mercedes asked in annoyance as she glared at the blonde in disgust. "First the cup song and now this?" _

_"What was wrong with my cup song?" Brittany asked in a small voice as she looked around the room for an answer, "I thought it was very creative." _

_"It was Britt." Santana said consolingly as she gave Mercedes the evil eye, "We all loved it." _

_Brittany seemed pacified but she let out an unnecessary huff as she walked past Mercedes. _

_"What's the big deal Mercy?" Kurt asked "It's just a stupid song, no use in getting worked up." _

_"I'm not worked up—"_

_"As the lead couple of the Glee club," Rachel began amid loud boos from her classmates, "Finn and I understand the pressures and animosity and meddlers that you may encounter. Although, don't worry Mercedes you and Sam will never be the lead couple in the Glee club but if you need a guide on how to survive this hostile environment look no further than Finn and I as your guide." _

_Sam looked over at his girlfriend and he could swear he saw steam rising from her head. She opened her mouth to say what he could only imagine would be the longest amount of curse words strung together in history but she was brought up short when he gave her a sharp tug on her arm. _

_She turned her glare on him and he was afraid for a second that she was going to cuss him out but her gaze softened. He nodded his head at the direction of the door and she nodded in affirmation. The left the room with their friends yelling out cat-calls and letting out wolf whistles. _

_Sam laughed and shook his head at their friends antics but the laughter died in his throat as he took in the expression on Mercedes' face. _

_"I can't do this." She said shakily._

_"Mercedes, what are you talking about? Yeah, it's annoying but it's just some light teasing, they'll stop it soon enough." _

_"It's not just the teasing, Rachel's right. The Glee club is hostile when it comes to relationships. We're in each other's business and we judge and we cause more problems for each other than we fix." _

_"Who cares?" Sam asked in frustration, "what does that have to do with us?" _

_"Nothing…everything…look, I don't know Sam. What I do know is I don't want to deal with a bunch of unnecessary drama right now."_

_"What drama?"_

_"You should know better than anyone what kind of drama I mean."_

_Sam looked down at his girlfriend in disbelief, "Is that what this is really about? My dating history? Where in the hell is this even coming from?_

_"I don't know…" She answered as she rubbed her temples, "all I know is we can't do this, not right now."_

_"Just like that, we're over. What we have means nothing to you?"_

_"What we have?" Mercedes laughed mirthlessly, "Sam all we had was a night a prom and for right now that's all it's going to be. Besides, what were the odds of us working out long term anyway?_

_Sam try to think of a reply but he couldn't form the words. He felt as if something was being ripped away from him and the pain was almost physical. It didn't make sense. Why did he feel so strongly about a girl he barely even dated? _

_Mercedes shot him a worried glance but when she tried to lay a comforting hand on his arm he flinched away. Those big doe eyes he liked so much lowered in sadness and he refused to feel bad for making her feel sad. _

_"I'm sorry Sam…" He heard her whisper as she turned and went back into the hotel room without a backwards glance. _

_Sam didn't know how long he stood out there standing at the door but he was brought roughly back to reality by a loud clap behind him. _

_"Sam, wake up, what are you standing outside for?" _

_Sam turned to see Mr. Schue hurrying down the hallway towards the room. _

_"Come on, we gotta go, I got a empty conference room downstairs we can practice in." _

_Mr. Schue breezed past Sam but he stopped when he noticed that he had moved. _

_"Did you hear me, wake up!" He said snapping is fingers in Sam's face._

"What?" 

_"I said, WAKE UP!" _


	3. Chapter 3

Sam jerked awake and cursed loudly at the sound of the jangling alarm clock near his head. He slammed his head down on it and glared at the offensive black box.

He sat up on the side of the bed but instantly regretted it because it felt as if his brain was trying to rip its way through his skull. He groped on the side of the nightstand for a bottle of aspirin but instead his hand found the glossy photo that he had placed on there the night before. He yanked the picture off the nightstand with the intention of tossing it over towards the foot of his bed but he was brought up short when he passed a cursory glance over the photo.

He gave a double take but immediately regretted it when the pain in his head multiplied by like 1000. He groaned miserably but instead of lying down he looked back down at the photo. For the most part it was still the same except for some minor but major differences. Rachel was still in the background yelling at a confused Finn. Santana and Brittany were still huddled together in the corner laughing at something on a cell phone. Sam noted that he was still sitting on the couch but on one side of him Quinn was glaring at Rachel and Finn and on the other side Mike and Tina were in a full-on tonsil hockey match.

"That's not right," Sam muttered as he rubbed his temples gingerly.

He picked the photo back up and stared until he found the person he looking for. Way across the room, and almost out of frame of the picture, was Mercedes, on Artie's lap while he stared up her with the biggest shit eating grin on his face.

"What in the hell?" Sam asked himself incredulously before he reached over towards the foot of the bed and grabbed the red photo album that was still there. He flipped through it quickly and he noticed how some of the pictures from the Nationals trip were exactly how he remembered it while others were vaguely different. He flipped back and forth through the pictures again and again but the end result never changed. Every picture that had him and Mercedes next to each other or looking at each other was different. Every one. A casual observer would never know the difference but Sam was no casual observer. Every single picture of him and Mercedes together he knew like the back of his hand. These were different pictures. Somehow, some way they were different.

"What in the fuck is going on?"

"You mean to tell me that you don't remember the carnival that year?"

"What carnival, Sam? I promise you we've never been to a carnival together…oh wait, are you talking about senior skip day?"

"No! I'm talking about the summer before I moved away, remember? We had Stevie and Stacy and we took them to carnival in town. We had funnel cakes and cotton candy and popcorn balls and then we rode the tilt-a-whirl and all got sick as dogs."

"What in the hell is a tilt-a-whirl?"

"What is a til—you can't honestly tell me you don't remember the tilt-a-whirl? You loved it, remember? After we got off, even though we both thought we were going to throw up you told me that thinking about that tilt-a-whirl would always make you smile."

Sam knew he sounded it desperate but he didn't care. He had called Mercedes a few hours after he woke up because it took that long for the headache to wither down to something manageable. When he told her what had happened with the pictures she had laughed and assured him that he wasn't crazy because the she had the same pictures he described in her own photo album. She teased him about staying up too late and watching creepy sci-fi/horror shows that had him imagining scary aliens or monsters sneaking in his room at night and slightly changing his photos to fuck with his mind. He wanted to scream in frustration then but he was ready to pull his hair out now. They had been talking for over an hour and Sam had been gently leading Mercedes to this conversation all the while praying that she would say what he needed to hear.

"Sam, sweetie, are you okay?" She asked with concern in her voice.

That was not what he needed to hear.

"I'm not fucking crazy."

"I never said you were, calm down. I'm just saying we didn't spend the summer together before you left. I didn't even see you once school let out for summer. I heard that you left when school was back in session because I overheard Quinn telling JBI that you moved away because dad got a job out of town."

"No! You said that and then you said I was so June and that you were going to have cocoa babies with Shane…"

"Cocoa babies? Now, I know you're not feeling well. I would never in life say something about having cocoa babies."

"Yes, you did, it's on tape. I saw it!"

"Oh, babe…maybe you should get some rest. Do you think having two jobs may be too much for you?"

"I'm fine! I just wish…"

"You just wish what?"

"Everything is so screwed up and I wish…I don't know." He finished feebly.

"Sam, look, I know having two jobs and being back in Lima may be a lot for you—"

"It's not that. I can handle that."

"Then what's going on?"

"I've been thinking about you and me and how we can never seem to get it quite right. I'm tired of being apart from you."

"Sam…we've talked about this."

"I know and I know I fucked up-"

"It wasn't about that. It was for the best, you know that."

"No, I don't, especially not now. I need you."

"You have me."

"No I don't, not really. It was like before…"

"Before when?"

"Before when you were with Shane. You told me you wanted to be with me but you would never leave him and when you finally did you left me right along with him."

"What we did was wrong Sam, it wasn't right for me to be with you after what we did to Shane."

"But it was okay with you to string me along?" He asked harshly.

"That's not fair!" She responded angrily, "I told you to back off but you wouldn't do it. Remember not being afraid of my bulldozer boyfriend? You knew exactly what you were getting into so don't play victim now. The only one that got wronged her was Shane, he deserved better."

"I wish you had never been with him. Hell, if it had it my way you wouldn't have known the guy at all."

"Sam! That's a horrible thing to say, Shane was a good boyfriend to me and he was there for me when NONE of my friends were there, including YOU."

"If I could have been there I would have, you know that."

"Well, you weren't, he was, end of discussion. I wish I could have felt as strongly for him as he did for me."

"Why couldn't you?"

"I don't want to talk about it," Mercedes answered evasively, "I think I should be hanging up now."

"Not until you tell me why you couldn't."

"You know why."

"Say it. I want to hear you say it," he pushed, "please tell me."

"Fine! I couldn't feel as strongly for him as he did for me because…because I was falling in love with you. There! Happy?"

"Extremely." Sam fist pumped the air and laid back on the bed.

"Look I have to go, this conversation has been interesting to say the least. If you're still feeling weird over the next couple of days promise me you'll go see a doctor."

"Mercedes," he whined plaintively, "you know how I feel about doctors."

"I don't care, something is off with you and I'd feel a lot better if you get checked out so promise me you'll go."

"Mercedes…"

"PROMISE!"

"Fine! I promise."

"Thank you Sammy," She responded sweetly, "I'll talk to you tomorrow, okay?"

"Yeah….okay, talk to you later."

Sam blew out a loud breath and tossed the phone on the bed over by the photo album. Even though he had only been awake for a few hours he suddenly felt bone tired, to the point where he could barely keep his eyes open. His eyes fluttered several times as he fought sleep but the battle was useless and he succumbed in seconds.


	4. Chapter 4

_"__Sam…baby we gotta sto…mmmmmm…please…Sam!"_

_"__Shhhhhhh, Merce you've gotta be quiet or we're going to get caught."_

_Sam tried to make the warning dire but it was hard to keep a straight face when his 'should be' girlfriend was giggling helplessly. The two of them were currently inside the janitor's closet that was located right next to the classroom where they have their God Squad meetings. Go figure._

_Sam buried his face in her neck and sucked on the skin gently and he ran his thumb down the middle of Mercedes' parted lips. He could feel the hot, wet pants of her breath against the pad of his finger. He slid the tip through the opening of her mouth and he hissed in pleasure when she nipped at the digit lightly with her teeth. _

_He pulled away and stared down at her in amusement. _

_"What?" She asked shyly as she tried to back out of his embrace. _

_"Nothing, it's just before I could barely get you to hold my hand and now…"_

_"At lot has changed in the last few months." She shrugged, "I've grown up." _

_"I guess I have him to thank for that." Sam responded, trying to keep the bitterness out of his tone but failing miserably. _

_"Don't start. He's a nice guy and he's been good to me." _

_"He's not that nice." He argued._

_"He's nice enough." She snapped back, "Look, while you were away in Kentucky I was here fighting for my spot on the Glee club and for the role of Maria. Nobody else was on my side, but him. When I got double cast with Rachel I was too through with everything and I wanted to walk away from it all. He talked to me and told me it would be useless for me and nothing good would come from me quitting the Glee club. He was right. I sucked it up and stayed with the Glee club and look at us now, we won Sectionals—without Rachel Berry, I might add—and we're headed to Regionals in a few weeks. It all worked out." _

_"I would have told you to leave." _

_"Sam!" _

_"What? You deserve better than to be in Rachel's spotlight or to split a role with her. I didn't have to hear your audition to know you were better." _

_"That's sweet but I can't even imagine what I would've done if I had quit Glee."_

"Doesn't matter…it would've been great regardless." He answered matter-of-factly. 

_She smiled up at him and she stood on her tip-toes to graze his lips with hers. Sam turned his head to the side and deepened the kiss. He nudged her backwards until her back made contact with a metal shelf packed full of cleaning supplies. They both yelped in surprise when bottles started raining down on them. Sam covered Mercedes head but he kept right on kissing her. _

_One second he was making out with his 'should be' girlfriend and in the next he was flat on his back staring up at her real and very pissed off boyfriend. _

_"Shit." Sam muttered under his breath as he scrambled to his feet to face the angry guy standing across from him. _

_"How long, huh? How long have you been sneaking around with my girlfriend behind my back?" _

_"Look, man, it's not—" Sam was about to tell him that it wasn't what it seemed like but that was a lie so he snapped his mouth shut._

_"What? It's not what it looks like? Because it looks like you were kissing MY girl in a janitor closet."_

_Mercedes came running out of the closet and she stood in between the two boys. Her hair was wild from Sam's fingers and traces of her lipstick were smudged around her mouth. Seeing her like that only seemed to enraged her boyfriend and he made a move forward as if he wanted to attack Sam._

_"Get out of the way Mercedes! Or I swear to God…"_

_"You swear to God what?" Sam spat out angrily as he gently grabbed Mercedes' arm and moved her behind him despite her protests. "You're not going to touch her." _

_"Shut up, fool. I'm not trying to hurt her but I was going to move her out of the way. I have no interest in touching her, especially not now, but I do want to beat your face in."_

_"No!" Sam heard Mercedes shout behind him, "You two can't fight. Please. I'm sorry Anthony, I'm so, so sorry. I've been meaning to tell you, I really have but the time was never right and I.." She trailed off and Sam could feel her fists tangled in the material of his shirt. _

_"You've been meaning to tell me? How long has this been going on? Ever since he got back to town?" _

_"No…not, that long." Mercedes answered feebly. _

_"HOW LONG?" _

_"None of your fucking business." Sam answered cruelly, "She wanted to be with me but she stayed with you out of guilt." _

_"Sam, stop." Mercedes whispered as she tugged on his shirt. _

_"No, I'm not going to stop because he needs to hear this once and for all. She's not your girl. She's mine." _

_"Man, fuck you." Anthony spat out in disgust. _

_Sam opened his mouth to reply but the fist connecting with his face prevented it. He heard Mercedes scream behind him and he wanted to comfort her but he couldn't concentrate with all the stars floating around his head. _

_"Oh my God! I can't believe you hit him!" He heard her screech as she struggled to get his limp form to the ground. _

_"He deserved it!" Anthony shouted, "Maybe that smug bastard will think again before he takes things that don't belong to him." _

_"I'm not a thing and I don't belong to you." Mercedes responded angrily. _

_"Whatever, I"m over it. Pretty boy can have you." _

_Sam groaned as he heard Anthony's heavy footsteps head in the opposite direction. He tried to turn his head but Mercedes had her hands on his face and she wouldn't let him._

_"No, Sam, don't move. Your nose is bleeding really badly. I think I saw someone run and get the nurse. Everything is going to be okay." _

_"Are we…" Sam choked out, "Are we okay? We can be together now, right?" _

_"Sam…we can talk about that later, okay?" Mercedes answered evasively, "right now we need to focus on getting you cleaned up. Can you get up?"_

_"What?" Sam asked as a sudden roaring noise filled his ears. _

_"I said GET UP!"_


	5. Chapter 5

"….I don't know! I've been here for almost ten minutes and he isn't responding…yes, he's breathing…I don't…Yes! I've done all of that…I don't….NO!…I'm calling 911…something isn't right…."

Sam groggily opened his eyes and took in his surroundings. He was back in his bedroom but this time he wasn't alone. The voice he heard was achingly familiar….and extremely panicked.

"I have to get off the phone Blaine…why…how in the hell am I going to call for an ambulance when I'm on the phone with you? Yes….okay…yes, I promise….I SAID I PROMISE….ok…I'll let you know…ok…OKAY…Bye."

Sam turned his head and saw his ex-girlfriend pacing back and next to his bed as she muttered something unintelligibly under her voice as she stared at her phone.

"No hospital." He croaked out, surprised at how dry his voice sounded.

"Sam! Oh my God, you're awake." She rushed towards the bed and watched him with wide eyes as he struggled to sit up. She sat down next to him but her hands fluttered around him uselessly as if she didn't know whether to help him up or force him to lay back down.

"What are you doing here? I thought you had a show in Dallas tonight."

"Tonight? Sam, that show was last night."

"It couldn't have been," He answered stubbornly, "I just talked to you a little while ago and you said that you had a show at the Galleria tonight."

"It's been over 12 hours since we last talked."

Sam blinked rapidly at Mercedes' words before releasing a dry chuckle, "Ha, ha, Mercedes that's real funny. It's been like an hour or two, three tops. I just took a nap after we got off the phone."

"Are you sure that's all that happened? What's the last thing you remember?"

"I remember having a conversation with you about our past dating history. I remember you trying to convince me that we didn't spend the summer together before I moved away. I remember talking about you dating Shane. I remember—"

"Me dating who?"

"Mercedes…please don't do this, not right now." Sam pleaded, "You and Shane. You two were together when I came back but you and I still had something between us and we kissed."

"Sam, who the hell is Shane? The only other guy I dated in high school besides you and Puck was Anthony Rashad."

"No….no, that doesn't make any sense."

"Sam, you're freaking me out."

"You're freaking ME out…how do you not remember Shane? He was there for you remember, when you went up against Rachel for the part of Maria—"

"That was Anthony—"

"No! It was Shane, you told me that he had your back and he was the only person who was there for you when you quit the Glee club."

"When I quit the Glee club? I never quit the Glee club."

"Yes you did! You quit the Glee club then you went to Miss Cochran and formed the Troubletones."

"Miss Cochran? Rachel's mom? I've never talked to that woman a day in my life. And what the hell are the Troubletones?"

"Is this supposed to be a joke Mercedes because it's not funny."

"Do I look like I'm laughing Sam? I don't know what the hell is going on with you but I've heard enough. You are talking crazy and apparently you are blacking out."

"Blacking out? What are you talking about?"

"SAM! We talked over 12 hours ago. Not a few hours. Who takes a 12 hour nap? I was worried about you after our talk so once my show was done I tried calling you again. You never picked up! I must have called a hundred times." Mercedes' voice cracked and she got up from the bed and started pacing again.

"I started calling everybody we know and they all tried calling you and you never answered. I thought you were dead!" She screamed as she stopped and faced him. "I called my mother and she came over here and beat on your door but you would never answer. Finally I couldn't stand it anymore so I caught the first available flight that I could to get here. My manager is beyond pissed because I had to cancel a show in Houston but I don't care."

"Mercedes, I'm fine…'

"You are NOT fine Sam. Something is wrong and I can't even begin to imagine what it can possibly be but it's bad. Please, let me take you to see a doctor. Please?"

Sam wanted to argue but he was too tired to fight. His head was pounding again so he just gave her a slight nod.

"Good….my Dad knows a guy and he's agreed to see you ASAP so we need to go now!"

"So how long has this been happening?" Mercedes asked half an hour later as she headed towards the local medical clinic.

"What?"

"The headaches, the hallucinations—"

"They're not hallucinations Mercedes!" Sam snapped in frustration, "I know they happened."

"Then why can't I remember? What don't I remember the carnival or the Troubletones or a guy named Shane I supposedly dated for months?"

"I don't know…"

"I do, it's because it never happened. Simple as that."

"Fine, from what you _remember _after you and Shan—I mean, Anthony broke up, did we get together in high school?"

"No, we didn't…we couldn't. You got expelled for that fight with Anthony, remember? Your parents made you go back to Kentucky."

"But prom…and Nationals…we won that year."

"Yeah, the Glee club won but you didn't…you weren't there."

"No…no, that doesn't make sense. I remember—"

"We sent you pictures and stuff, maybe that's what you remember?"

"No! I was there! I know I was."

"Okay….ok, calm down."

"I am calm!" He said loudly which belied his words. "I just know I'm not fucking crazy!"

"Nobody ever said you were crazy I just think you're…confused."

"You know what, I am confused. If we never got back together after you broke up with Shan—Anthony then what happened, why are we still in contact now?"

"We did get back together. In New York."

"That still happened?"

"Yeah, I was going to school at Cleveland State and I did a talent show at the student union one day. Some guy that interned at a record label was there and he recorded me and sent it to his boss. The guy flew to the school the next day and he signed me on the spot."

"That's not what happened…"Sam said quietly but Mercedes just shot him a sympathetic look.

"The record label furnished me a brownstone while I recorded my album in New York. Personally I would've chosen LA but…it's whatever. You and Blaine had connected over Facebook and became friends despite not being that close when you were in Mckinley the second time. When you found out he was moving to NYC with Kurt you came as well. Things got a little crowded over at Rachel and Kurt's loft so you and Blaine moved in with me. We hooked up and then—"

"We broke up." Sam said matter-of-factly because he knew it was one of the few things he would be right on.

"Yeah, we did." Mercedes shifted uncomfortably in her seat as she flipped up the signal light lever to signify the right turn she was about to make onto the busy highway.

"What happened?"

"Sam, you know what happened…I mean, I guess you remember what happened."

"I kissed a photographer." He stated flatly.

"Yeah, you did." She replied softly as she searched the road for an opening.

"I'm so sorry," he apologized as he hung his head in shame, "I didn't want her…it was a mistake…"

"Hey, it's okay. It's been over three months. I've moved past it."

"I haven't. If I hadn't done that we'd still be together."

"Maybe…probably." She admitted. "Frankly I don't know. Things happen for a reason so maybe we're not supposed to be together."

"I don't believe that. I refuse to believe that. I wish I would have never kissed that woman."

"I wish you hadn't kissed her either, but more than that I wish you had never been put in that situation in the first place."

Mercedes gave one more quick glance in both directions before she pulled out into traffic. Sam stifled a sudden yawn but she still heard it and she looked at him in surprise.

'Are you tired again?"

"A little bit," Sam answered as his eyelids grew heavy, "how much further to the doctor's office?"

"Not far, it's right after this next light."

Sam forced his eyes open and looked over at Mercedes, she looked so beautiful even though she was clenching the steering wheel as if it were a lifeline. She was clearly scared and he hated that he was the reason for it.

"Hey…" he murmured quietly, "it's going to be okay. I promise."

Mercedes smiled over at him but it didn't reach her eyes.

"I hope so."

Sam closed his eyes and he felt the darkness surround him but not before heard the sickening crunch of metal against metal.


	6. Chapter 6

_Sam skipped happily up the stairs to the apartment he shared with the woman he loved more than anything. He knew he should be in a foul mood considering that he just lost his job and probably got his name blacklisted all over the modeling community but it was all worth it._

_"__Hey babe?" He called out as he breezed into the brownstone, "where you at?"_

_"__In here." Came the quiet reply from the living room._

_He slid open the door and found Mercedes sitting on the ottoman with tissues surrounding her._

_"__Baby, what's the matter?" Sam asked as he rushed to sit in front of her on the couch, "Why are you crying? What happened?"_

_She looked up at him and her face instantly crumbled, "I'm so sorry."_

_Sam stared at her in shock as she lowered her head._

_"__Sorry for what? What happened?" He asked again._

_"__I cheated on you."_

_"__What? I…don't understand."_

_"__I didn't plan on it…I was…I was in rehearsals with my dancers and everybody left except Darius…we were just talking and…I don't know what happened…he just kissed me and…"_

_"__Did you kiss him back?"_

_"__Yes…I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you, it just happened!"_

_"__What about us?"_

_"__Sam…"_

_"__Do you want to be with him?"_

_"__No! It was a mistake, I don't see him like that but…"_

_"__But what?" He asked sharply._

_"__But maybe it's best this happened now—"_

_"__Are you kidding me?" Sam asked incredulously, "What are you saying?" _

_"__Sam, our friends warned us about this. They said we would be tempted and they were right! Rachel told me guys would be throwing themselves at me and Kurt said that if you were tempted you would be able to control yourself—"_

_"__But I did!" He yelled angrily, "there was a model at my shoot that was all over me but not once was I tempted. That male photographer we had was a real pervert and he wanted me and that model to do all kinds of raunchy poses but I wouldn't do it because I have no desire whatsoever to even pretend to be that intimate with anybody but you."_

_Mercedes burst into tears at his words and Sam felt the anger drain from his body. He sat next to here on the ottoman and gathered her in his arms._

_"__We have to break up," Mercedes sniffled, "we can't be together, not now."_

_"__Why does this keep happening to us?" Sam asked sadly as he felt a tear trickle down his cheek. "We're supposed to be together."_

_"__Maybe we're not…"_


	7. Chapter 7

…Beep…

…Beep…

…Beep…

"What in the hell is that?" Sam grumbled groggily as he reached over to swipe at the alarm clock by the side of his bed. Instead of touching the smooth surface of his nightstand he instead hit the side of a railing. He turned his head and his bleary gaze made out what appeared to be a white railing.

He blinked his eyes and as his vision cleared he saw that it was in fact a white railing and the loud incessant beeping noise was coming from an IV stand next to his bed. Sam reached out to grab it but he was brought up short by the sound of man's voice in the room.

"You really shouldn't be touching that." The deep voice said matter-of-factly, "In fact I think it's best you lay back and rest, you've had a rough few days."

Sam looked over to where the voice was coming from and when his eyes rested on a small man in the corner they widened in shock.

"YOU! How in the hell are you…where did you come from?"

"Can't a man visit an old friend?"

"We're not friends Djinn," Sam choked out in a raspy voice, "I don't know you and you sure as hell don't know me. Why are you here? And where are we?"

"You're in a hospital. Don't you remember what happened?"

Sam racked his brain but the only clear memory he had was of their first meeting.

"I got hit by that SUV didn't I? When I saved you I actually got hit…that's what happened, isn't it?"

"Well…not exactly. You were hit by a car but I wasn't around that time."

"What the hell does that mean?" Sam asked as he tried to sit up but a sharp pain in his side had him easing back into a supine position.

Djinn said nothing but he walked over to a small rolling side table near Sam's bed. He picked up a remote control and turned it towards the television.

"I'm not interested in watching tv—" Sam began but his words quickly died in this throat as the voice of a solemn newscaster filled the room.

_"__Up and coming singer/ songwriter Mercedes Jones was tragically killed in a two-car collision on Maple Avenue yesterday afternoon. Eyewitnesses claim that the car that was carrying Miss Jones and her passenger was traveling east bound when a black SUV that was traveling on the west bound lane suddenly crossed the median and t-boned them. Miss Jones was the only fatality of the accident, the passenger is being listed in critical but stable driver of the SUV was treated and released for minor injuries and is currently in police custody. Sources claim that the DA is looking to charge the driver with one count of vehicular manslaughter. We will have more on that as the story develops. Right now the community of Lima mourns the loss of a great talent gone too soon._

Djinn clicked the television off and tossed the remote lightly on the table. The only sound left in the room was Sam's rough, uneven breathing.

"What….what was that?" Sam panted out as he felt his chest getting tighter and tighter. "That's not possible…that's not…she's not dead!"

"According to that news report she is," Djinn answered nonchalantly. "Such a shame too, she seemed like a nice girl."

"SHE'S NOT DEAD!" Sam yelled hoarsely as he clawed at the IV in his arm. "I just talked to her…I just.." He stopped as flashes of her pacing in his bedroom sprung up in his mind but he shook them away.

"We were just on the phone….she..she had a show in Dallas, Texas!"

"Are you sure about that?" Djinn asked dryly.

"Yes, she told me…she told me we couldn't talk long because…" Sam's words trailed off as the sound of Mercedes panicked voice trying to convince him that her show had already happened rang in his head.

A piercing sharp pain ripped through his skull and he groaned in agony. His mind was suddenly filled with a collage of distorted pictures and memories that seemed like they were trying to meld together. It was like a huge misshapen jigsaw puzzle that was had no real form because it was pieced together by a multitude of puzzle pieces that didn't fit. Visions of Mercedes at screaming happily with joy as they spun around dizzily on the tilt-a-whirl were being forced away by memories of her sobbing on an ottoman as she told him over and over again that she cheated. Recollections of the crinkly feel of tinsel around his neck as Mercedes pulled him closer were replaced by the thought of the warm steel of Anthony's fist as it pummeled his face over and over again.

This was not his life. These were not his memories.

Sam rocked back and forth as he fought to keep the visions of the life he once knew intact but it was useless because they were being snuffed out one by one like candles.

Tears ran unchecked down his face as the life he once knew and loved faded away.

"Tsk, tsk…"

Sam raised his head from his hands and glared at the other, uninvited occupant in the room.

"Get out," he growled in a gravelly voice. "Get the hell out of my life and stay out. It's been one bad thing right after the other ever since I met you."

"And whose fault is that?"

"Excuse me?" Sam asked in disbelief, "You can't really be saying that it's—"

"Your fault?" Djinn interrupted, "That's exactly what I'm saying. I was very clear about my instructions Sam, whether you chose to pay attention or not."

"What the fuck are you talking about?"

"I gave you three wishes, Sam, three! Anything your heart desired but I warned you that if you changed the past it would have ramifications for your future."

"That's horseshit!" Sam responded defensively.

"Really? What did you wish for?"

"I didn't wish for anything, what the hell are you talking about?"

"You didn't wish that Mercedes hadn't broken up with you over your first summer together? You didn't wish that she would have never known Shane? Didn't you wish that you had never kissed that photographer?"

"Yes…but…I didn't…I wasn't…I wasn't trying to change the past." Sam sputtered out. "I was just telling Mercedes that I wished things were different between us. I didn't say any of it thinking it would really happen!"

"Your intention doesn't matter. What matters is what you said. You carelessly wished for things to be different so I granted those wishes."

"I want my old life back! I want Mercedes back. I want her to be alive and healthy and off conquering the world. That is what I wish for."

"That is not how this works Sam. Three wishes. That's all you get."

"That's not fair! Why is Mercedes the one paying for what I did?"

"You tell me. Why did you wish for her decisions to be changed?"

"What?"

"You chose to change the three times in your life when Mercedes broke up with you."

"Yeah, and it didn't fucking matter in the end because we always ended up apart again anyway."

"And yet, you kept going back to each other."

"What's your fucking point, Djinn?"

"My point is no matter what happened between you, no matter what path was taken you always ended up back together."

"Except now." Sam said as his voice thickened with tears, "now we can't end up together because she's dead."

"Well, death has a finality to it that nothing else does." Djinn chuckled darkly.

"Do you think this if fucking funny? Mercedes is gone and you want to make jokes?"

"No, it's not funny it's ironic but you can't see it."

"What does that mean?"

"Call it God, call it the universe, call it fate, call it whatever you want but there is something or someone out there that has a plan for us all. There was a reason why I told you specifically not to mess with your past. It happened for a reason. Period. When you go around messing with things that are meant to be left alone bad things are bound to happen."

"I know….I know! You've said this already, it's all my fault! The love of my life is in a morgue somewhere because I had the audacity to want to spend my life with her."

"No, the love of your life is in a morgue somewhere because you couldn't accept her decisions. You couldn't accept her right to choose what was best for her."

"That's bullshit!"

"No it's not. Why did you two break up the first time?"

"Because I was moving away and she didn't want to do a long distance relationship."

"Fine, why change it?" Djinn asked curtly.

"Wha…because if we didn't break up then…then…"

"Then what? She would have had a long distance relationship with you but back at home she would have been all alone."

"She wasn't alone she had her friends from the Glee club."

"Even after she quit?"

"Wha…I mean…no, but…"

"Who did she have after she quit the Glee club?"

"Shane, but…."

"But you wished that she never met him, right?"

Sam opened him mouth to fire back a retort but he had nothing. Djinn gave him a smug look and continued his interrogation as he paced back and forth at the foot of the bed.

"You wished away the one good, stable thing Mercedes had from the beginning of her senior year because he kept you from having what you wanted."

"That isn't what I intended," Sam replied defensively, "I just wished that she and I could've been together in high school without something constantly tearing us apart"

"And what if that wasn't meant for the two of you?"

"Obviously it wasn't because it never happened."

"Obviously." Djinn echoed sarcastically.

"Fine, what about when we were adults and living in New York. Why couldn't we be happy then?"

"Were you not happy?"

"We were for a little while…but then that photoshoot happened…." Sam trailed off guiltily, "I got caught up and I ruined everything."

"Did you?"

"She dumped me, didn't she? Again! Obviously I ruined it."

"Did you feel as if you and Mercedes were over for good then?"

"What does it matter, we're done for good now." Sam answered bitterly.

"Just answer the question. Did you think at that moment that you were over for good?"

"No." Sam answered after a long pause. "I never felt like we were over. Ever. She always had my heart…how could we have been over?"

A heavy silence fell over the small room and Sam sat back against his bed. His eyes burned with unshed tears and the pressure in his chest was making it hard for him to breathe. He wanted nothing more than for Djinn to leave the room so that he could mourn for the loss of the love of his life. He needed to scream, and cry, and yell and curse the universe but first he had one more thing he needed to know.

"Are you some kind of genie or something?"

"Something like that."

"Well, I know this might not be your area of expertise but do you know…if I hadn't wished for what I did…do you know what would have become of her?"

"She would have been great. Mercedes Jones was destined for great things and a very happy life. She was going to have it all, success, children, and a man that loved her more than anything. She was destined to be a very lucky woman."

"Oh God…" Sam choked out before the dam burst and heavy sobs wracked his body. He sobbed for what he loss but more than anything he mourned for the life that Mercedes would no longer get to live. He cried for her children that would never exist and he even grieved for the man that would never get a chance to love her.

"Please God…please, please…not her," Sam cried brokenly as the world faded to black around him, "Please save her…please…please…"


	8. Chapter 8

"….how come Jesus looks just like a white guy

When he's from Palestine, that can't be right, no…

Sh-sh-sh-shakin' my head

Sh-sh-sh-shakin' my head…"

"Ughhhhhh…."

The loud, pulsating beat roused Sam rather abruptly from his sleep. He swung his hand out to slap at his alarm clock to make the music stop but he was distracted by the feel of his bed moving up and down to the beat of the music. He cracked his eyes open and he was shocked to find not only was he in a room he didn't recognize but there were three small boys at the foot of his bed jumping up and down and shaking their heads wildly.

"Sh-sh-sh-shakin' my head

Sh-sh-sh-shakin' my head…"

They screamed and laughed as they sang the song. Sam's foggy mind cleared and he scrambled into a sitting position. The boys all stopped jumping immediately as they turned to stare at him. They seemed close in age with the smallest looking as if he were around three and the oldest looking as though he might be six or seven. They all had light brown skin and curly dark brown hair. They were clearly siblings because they all favored each other and even though Sam had no idea who they were they still seemed familiar.

The three boys looked at one another and he saw three big identical grins spread over their faces. Before he could react they hurtled themselves at him and landed…hard.

"Oomph!" Sam grunted as one of the boys kneed him right in the gut.

"Daddy!" The youngest squealed as he wrapped his tiny arms around Sam's neck. "You're awake!"

"Huh?"

"Daaaaaaadddddyyyy get up!" The oldest boy yelled, "Mommy told us to come wake you up for breakfast. Come on!"

Sam stared at the boys in confusion but he didn't protest as they dragged him out of the bed.

"We got pancakes!" The smallest boy squealed happily as he pushed the back of Sam's legs and propelled them forward.

"Mommy is making them like Mickey Mouse." The middle one said in a quieter voice as he grabbed Sam's left hand and led him out the bedroom door.

The boys quickly skipped down the stairs right outside the bedroom and Sam had no choice but to follow. He tried to take in his surroundings but nothing was familiar. Nothing until he heard a voice…

_"__Looking out on the morning rain  
I used to feel so uninspired  
And when I knew I had to face another day  
Lord, it made me feel so tired_

Before the day I met you, life was so unkind  
But you're the key to my peace of mind…"

Sam stopped in his tracks and all three boys stopped to look at him curiously. He felt tears prick his eyes as the soothing melodic sound washed over him.

"Mercedes?"

The boys all exchanged glances and shrugged before taking off for the kitchen again.

"Boys…where's Daddy?"

"He's coming," One of the boys chirped, "where's the Mickey pancakes?"

"There are some on plates in the dining room. They already have syrup on them so go ahead and start eating."

"Yay!" The boys yelled in unison and Sam could hear the pitter patter of their feet as they ran to get their breakfast.

"Honey?" He heard but he couldn't make his feet to move towards the sound, "Sam, are you coming?"

The sound of the voice was so achingly familiar but Sam didn't dare think it belonged to who he thought it did. He might not know exactly what was happening at the moment but he very clearly remembered sitting in a hospital room and hearing that the woman he loved was dead.

He finally found the strength to move his legs and he shuffled forward until he was standing on the hardwood floor of the kitchen. The sight that met him almost brought him to his knees.

"Uh, there you are sleepyhead! I was starting to get worried about you."

"Mercedes?" He croaked out again in disbelief. "Is it really you?"

"Ummm, yeah….were you expecting somebody different? Is there something you need to tell me?" She asked in a teasing voice.

"This isn't real…this…you're not real." Sam shook his head from side to side in disbelief. "You died…I saw—you we're gone. He told me that….he said that…what the hell is going on?"

"Sweetie, are you okay?" She asked worriedly and she came forward as if to comfort him but Sam flinched away from her touch.

"I'm sorry but I can't let you touch me," He apologized when he saw the wounded look on her face, 'I can't…knowing that this isn't real."

"Not real? What are you talking about? Where is this coming from?"

"I'm dreaming or I finally went crazy or something." Sam explained feebly, "my life has completely shattered around me and obviously I couldn't take it and I lost my mind."

"What brought this on?" Mercedes asked calmly even though there was fear in her eyes, "why do you all of a sudden think our life isn't real?"

"Because I screwed it all up. Because I wished for the past to change and it ruined our future. I was selfish and I changed the course of our life."

"Like how?"

"Like when I wished that we hadn't broken up over the summer so instead you dumped me at Nationals. Or when I wished that Shane never existed but Anthony took his place. Or when I wished I hadn't kissed that photographer but you kissed your dancer instead. I tried to fix us over and over again but instead I just broke us beyond repair."

Sam sat down heavily on a barstool and he buried his head in his but he brought it back up quickly when he heard Mercedes' quiet giggles.

"Babe, did you have something to drink last night and didn't tell me?"

"This isn't funny," Sam answered in a hurt voice even though he didn't understand why he was bothering to argue with a figment of his imagination.

"Yeah, it kinda is. First off, we didn't break up at Nationals…why would we? We had just gotten together and nobody knew about us. We broke up in June that year because we found out your family was moving to Kentucky."

"But—"

"And I don't know what would EVER make you think I would date Anthony Rashad but I can most assure you that most certaintly never happened. The only guys I dated in high school besides you were Puck and Shane. That's it."

"But—"

"And finally as much as I hate thinking about this you did in fact kiss that predator photographer. Please don't remind me because even though it has been years I still wish I could get my hands on that bitch."

"Years? How many?"

"Since that happened? Almost 10…did you fall and bump your head or something?"

"No…I just…I don't understand what's happening."

Mercedes came forward and grabbed Sam's hand before he could pull away. He hissed at the contact and stared down at their joined hands in confusion.

"This doesn't make sense, you feel so real."

"Baby, I am real." Mercedes assured him. "We're real, our boys are real, our life is real."

"We have kids?"

"Yeah, three little tornadoes," She laughed before taking their joined hands and placing them on her stomach, "And one on the way…hopefully this one will be a girl. A calm little girl."

"Wow…" Sam responded and in that moment he decided to stop trying to wake up from this amazing dream and just enjoy it for as long as he could.

"Speaking of our boys, we need to go check on them. The allure of Mickey pancakes only holds their attention for so long. The coffee is on if you want to grab a cup but if you want the paper you'll have to go grab it because I haven't gotten a chance yet."

"Okay," he answered but he stopped her before she could pull away. "I love you Mercedes." He said solemnly because he didn't know if he'd ever get the chance again. "I love you so much."

"I know baby." She whispered before leaning in and giving him a soft kiss. "I love you too."

She dropped another kiss on his lips before giving him a small smile and pulling away. She maneuvered her way around the bar and headed in the direction the small boys—their sons went earlier.

He stood dazedly and made his way towards the direction of what he assumed was the front door. As he walked through the living room he passed a fireplace that had a row of Grammy's on the mantle. He picked up one and read the inscription under his breath.

"2015 Best New Artist, Mercedes Jones." He smiled at the thought and gently put the award down before moving on to the next one and the one after that. He felt his chest grow with pride even though in his mind he knew he was dreaming. This was how it should've been.

He walked outside and was met unexpectedly by a blast of warm, balmy air. He knew instantly that he was not dreaming of Lima so he assumed that it must be somewhere in California. He took in the spacious, well manicured lawn on either side of the winding sidewalk. There were a few small toys and bikes tucked away in one corner of the yard and parts of the sidewalk were covered in brightly colored chalk.

There was a chorus of birds chirping harmoniously and it amazed Sam how vivid and real his dream was. He used to think about how his future would be with Mercedes one day but he was never this imaginative. Bitterly he assumed that losing everything forced his mind to go into overdrive in order to fill in the gaping, massive holes in his life.

He continued down the walkway until he reached a gate, right outside of it laid a paper encased in a plastic bag. He opened the gate and turned and looked back at the home once again. His mind wouldn't let him have a connection to it but even so it felt so right. This was the perfect life and if all he had were his dreams to maintain it then so be it.

He walked outside the gate and leaned over to pick up the paper. As he was coming back up he heard the unmistakable sound of a car driving passed. He stood fully and when he did he saw a black SUV barreling towards him.

"Shit!" He cursed as he turned to get back through the gate but when he turned there was no gate. He dropped the paper in his in shock but instead of hearing a soft thud he heard a loud thwacking noise. He looked down and instead of seeing a paper he saw an iPhone on the ground with a shattered screen.

The SUV came to a screeching halt just a few feet in front of Sam and the man behind the wheel had him seeing red.

"YOU! I should have known you were behind this!" Sam yelled angrily as he rushed to the side of the car. "I knew seeing Mercedes was too good to be true! Why do you keep fucking with me?"

Djinn just smiled that wide infuriating smile and replied, "what makes you think I'm fucking with you?"

"I just saw this life, this great, wonderful, perfect life with Mercedes and just like that it was gone. And five seconds later you showed up. The house, the kids, Mercedes…everything its just gone."

"And where are you now?"

"I'm…" Sam took a step back from the SUV and took in his surroundings. He looked down at the weeds jutting out of various cracks in the jagged sidewalk. He looked up and in the distance he could see the apartment building that he used to live in when he moved back to—

"I'm in Lima?" He stared down at his lanky frame and he noticed the white shirt, and black slack that was his customary uniform when he worked at Breadstix. He reached behind him and he could feel the rolled up apron in his back pocket. He felt a weight around his neck so he pulled it off and stared down at it in disbelief.

"It's the Beats Mercedes bought me. I'm back to the day we first met."

"Yep." Djinn answered with a loud pop of his 'p'.

"So does that mean that none of that stuff happened? That Mercedes is okay?" Sam asked as he felt his hands start to tremble excitedly. "She's alive, right?"

"Oh it happened." Djinn responded, only answering one of the questions. "None of this was a dream."

Sam felt his heart sink, "so if it happened then why am I back here?"

"Well, as it turns out somebody," Djinn said dryly as he pointed upwards, "has a bigger plan for you…even one you can't mess up."

"I don't understand."

"Frankly kid, I don't either. Normally when somebody tries to change the past he or she sets off a chain of events that completely derails their future."

"I thought that's what I did?" Sam asked, "That what YOU said I did."

"I thought it was. But no matter what you did in any version of events, you and Mercedes always found your way back to each other. Always. Clearly the universe really wants the two of you to be together. So what can I say? Some things are just meant to be."

"So that's it? Life is just back to the way it used to be?"

"For everybody else, yes, for you…well, let's just say that you'll never truly forget. It will fade in time but you always know in the back of your mind that things could've been different. It will make you appreciate your life more."

Sam let those words sink in and he felt hope start to blossom in his chest. He couldn't fight the grin that was rapidly spreading across his face.

"Will I ever see you again?" He asked Djinn bluntly, "I don't want to be rude but I hope not…"

"Ha! No, young Sam, you will never see me again. In fact, you won't even remember me when I'm gone."

"I can't say that I saddened to hear that."

"I didn't think you would be. Take care Sam, and appreciate your gift. Not many are given the opportunity you have."

"I will." Sam responded solemnly.

"Good. Now you should probably answer your phone…oh and you're welcome by the way."

"What?" Sam asked in surprise, "It's not rin—"

RING! RING! RING!

Djinn just raised his eyebrows and gave Sam look that clearly said, 'I told you so' as he nodded in the direction of the ground.

Sam leaned down to get the phone while asking, "How in the hell did you know…Djinn? Djinn?"

Sam stared in disbelief at the empty road in front of him. What in the hell had just happened? He could vaguely recall a black car but he couldn't for the life of him picture what the occupant looked like and the more he thought of it the less he could remember.

RING! RING! RING!

The sharp noise brought Sam back to reality and he looked down at his phone. He breathed a sigh of relief that the screen was still intact because he could have sworn that it would have been shattered after hitting the ground. He thanked his lucky stars for his good fortune.

He slid the bar across to unlock the phone and he smiled when he saw who was calling.

"Hey, beautiful, how are you today?"

"I'm good…how are you?"

"Good…great, actually. I'm just glad to hear your voice Mercedes…it feels like its been a lifetime since I heard it."

"A lifetime Sam?" She laughed, "we just talked yesterday."

"I know it's just…I miss you. I miss us."

He could hear her sigh on the phone and he knew he was pushing buttons but it just felt very important to him that he let her know how he felt.

"We've talked about this," she started gently, "Right now is just not the right time for us."

"I know."

"Then why did you bring it up?"

"Because no matter where we are right now I know we're meant to be. You and I are mean to spend our lives together."

"I hope so," she responded softly.

"I know so." He answered and finality rang in his voice.

"Hey, you wanna hear something crazy?" Sam asked Mercedes as he took off down the street.

"What?"

"I had the craziest dream…I met this guy and I saved his life."

"Oh really? Is this one of your superhero dreams?"

"No." Sam answered, smiling at the sound of Mercedes' laugh, "I saved this guy's life—"

"Who was he?"

"Honestly, I don't remember. I can't even picture a face but I know it was a man. So ANYWAY…" He said pointedly, causing Mercedes to laugh even harder, "as I was saying I saved this man from certain death and he granted me three wishes."

"Well, what did you wish for?"

"You."


End file.
